Influencer Spotlights

Are you experienced with Jimi Hendrix? Load up on great moments from the guitar god and the many artists he has influenced now in honor of today's opening of the motion picture Jimi: All Is By My Side, which stars Andre “3000” Benjamin of Outkast fame and is directed by Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley.

Enjoy an extended mix of all things Hendrix inspired and play our specially crafted Jimi: All Is By My Side station. Have fun, kiss the sky, and unleash your best air guitar as you enjoy the legacy of Jimi Hendrix!

For fans wanting to dive even deeper, follow Jimi: All Is By My Side on Rdio to hear dozens of hours of carefully curated playlists including:

The Blues Heritage of Jimi Hendrix compares his blues-drenched work to that of some of his early favorites, including Muddy Waters, Duke Ellington, Albert King and Elmore James.

Songs That Jimi Hendrix Covered reveals even more of his influences as he took on songs by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry and Big Mama Thornton and gave them a unique spin.

Jimi Hendrix Songs Covered By Others refracts the Hendrix experience through the imaginations of legends in their own right such as Deep Purple, Eric Clapton, Rickie Lee Jones, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Richard Linklater’s acclaimed film Boyhood was shot over the course of a dozen years, so you can see actor Ellar Coltrane age from 6 to 18 in a dizzying flash. This is not the only powerful dose of reality in this movie by a long shot, and you’re about to hear one of the most special examples.

In the movie, star Ethan Hawke shares a special playlist called The Black Album with his son (played by Coltrane), a set culling all the best solo tunes from each member of The Beatles. Hawke actually created this playlist for his daughter in real life, modifying it slightly for the film but preserving the same magic of sharing timeless music across generations. As much as we love hearing John, Paul, George and Ringo together, Hawke’s loving collection shows the strength that each musician has as a solo artist.

Follow Boyhood on Rdio for more playlists from this extraordinary cinematic release, including one charting the musical highlights from each year of the film. Boyhood is in theaters now.

Director Richard Linklater’s latest film Boyhood packs groundbreaking reality into a fictional film. American actor Ellar Coltrane, who stars with Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke, was cast at age six in 2002 with filming took place one week a year over the course of a dozen years.

This trip through the musical eras will help you chart Mason’s growth from a little kid to the brink of being an adult in the most fun way possible. Don’t worry, though; you clearly haven’t aged a day.

Boyhood opens in limited release today in New York and Los Angeles and will expand to more US cities on July 19th.

BottleRock Napa Valley will pop the cork on its second annual music, food and wine festival at Napa Valley Expo in beautiful California Wine Country on May 30-June 1. Forty-five bands are scheduled to play over four stages while attendees wine and dine with from the region’s up-and-coming purveyors.

The Napa area is booming with new sights and sounds, and this year’s fest promises to upstage last year’s inaugural event with a wide variety of top talent across musical genres such as The Cure, TV on the Radio, The Fray, Outkast, Weezer, Matt & Kim, Blues Traveler, Heart, Gin Blossoms, Sublime with Rome, Eric Church, and many more.

Whether or not you will be checking out BottleRock in person, you can follow BottleRock on Rdio for exclusive playlists starting now and leading up to the festival weekend. Each day’s lineup is a tempting mix of artists & genres.

BottleRock Day 1 will kick off the celebration with headlining sets from acts like The Cure, Sublime, TV On the Radio, Mayer Hawthorne, and Spin Doctors:

As the music portion of South by Southwest gets underway this week our amazing Rdio Influencers have put together a buzzworthy swath of playlists that feature bands to see, lineups at the various SXSW parties, and picks for who to keep an eye on (whether you're in Austin or sitting in the comfort of your own home).

Check out these Rdio playlists to help guide your SXSW experience and check out the artists that will be blowing up this week in Austin — and beyond!

Need an indie fix? The Dumbing of America brings you The Best SXSW Indie Bands featuring their favorite bands at the festival who will keep your indie cred alive and make your hipster heart go a-flutter. Check out tracks from Eagulls, Hospitality, OFF!, Ski Lodge and much more.

Our satirical friends at The Onion want you to take this playlist seriously! Music Editor Marah Eakin has put together a selection of favorite artists at SXSW 2014 to guide you through the SXSW noise with picks that include Angel Olsen, Cloud Nothings, Speedy Ortiz, and Jarvis Cocker.

Press play on ModCloth'sSXSW Lineup Favorites for a curated sampler of their favorite artists to to see live in Austin this year, including Wye Oak, St. Vincent and Phantogram.

The Voice returns to NBC tonight at 8pm/7pm CT with Shakira and Usher rejoining Blake Shelton and Adam Levine on the superstar coaching panel. To celebrate the kick-off of our favorite TV singing competition (that doesn’t judge a book by its cover), we are turning our chairs around and thrilled to share this exclusive Rdio playlist from Blake Shelton himself.

Listen to Blake Shelton’s Favorite Songs for tunes by Team Blake singers and contestants from The Voice, along with songs from the show's coaches and advisors (including his wife Miranda Lambert).

Need more tunes to get in the mood for The Voice? Check out music from coaches Adam Levine of Maroon 5, R&B star Usher, and Latin sensation Shakira.

New to Rdio? Start listening for free right now. Want the most of your Rdio experience? Upgrade to Rdio Unlimited or our Family Plan, for mobile on-demand features and ad-free listening everywhere you go.

You’ve bought the flowers and the candy and maybe even planned a romantic meal. But the most important element for your Valentine’s Day plan is, of course, the perfect soundtrack. Don't worry, we’ve taken care of that detail with the help of a select group of our cupid-approved Rdio Influencers. These four playlists are guaranteed to keep the love vibe flowing!

Dylan Lauren, owner of the epic sugar palace known as Dylan’s Candy Bar in New York (and daughter of designer Ralph Lauren), is the original Candy Girl and she’s sharing her sweetest tunes on Dylan’s Candy Bar Favorites. The playlist includes such dessert-forward favorites as “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archies, “Milkshake” by Kelis, and “I Want Candy” by Bow Wow Wow.

The dating experts at Howaboutwe have gifted us with a playlist of 21 Most Romantic Songs to fit any mood. Turn up the romance with tunes by Beyonce, John Legend, Frank Ocean and Bruno Mars.

Fresh off of their soundtrack appearance on the new movie Endless Love, indie pop darlings Echosmith share 20 of their favorite lovey-dovey tunes on Echosmith Loves You: A Valentine’s Day Playlist. It’s a romp through ‘80s pop and modern indie rock via artists such as The Cure, Peter Gabriel, Berlin, The Smiths and Coldplay, all with a heaping helping of affection.

As the XXII Olympic Winter Games continue through February 23 in Sochi, Russia, three incredible American athletes have shared the tunes that help motivate them to win — and to relax afterwards — in these exclusive Rdio playlists.

Alpine ski cup racer Julia Mancuso has already snagged the bronze for the 2014 women’s combined event, a new medal to add to her collection of Olympic medals won in 2006 and 2010. She’s put together a wonderful playlist that reveals what she loves to listen to in her Down Time, which includes highlights from Lorde, Passion Pit, Haim, and Ellie Goulding.

Halfpipe snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler is an American and World champion and is also the first female athlete to have her own clothing line with Oakley. She chooses heady, adrenaline-pumping songs from the likes of Icona Pop, Avicii, M.I.A., Spank Rock, and Red Hot Chili Peppers in a playlist of current favorites that she calls My Tops.

Ice hockey forward Hilary Knight scored the first goal of the Olympics for the U.S. women’s team! Her Plane, Bus, Walk offers an exceptional two-plus hour look at the myriad of musical sounds that fill her ears when she’s traveling, including artists like Drake, Rudimental, Vybz Kartel, The Weeknd, Beyonce, and Lana Del Rey.

Play ‘em to feel like a champion!

New to Rdio? Start listening for free right now. Want the most of your Rdio experience? Upgrade to Rdio Unlimited or our Family Plan, for mobile on-demand features and ad-free listening everywhere you go.

The countdown is on — In just a few days The 56th Annual GRAMMYs will take over the airwaves on CBS to reveal the big award winners plus a host of blow-out performances and eye popping wardrobe choices.

Want more? Listen to a sampling of all the nominees including 52 songs from a variety of artists like Daft Punk, Imagine Dragons, Lorde, Bruno Mars, Robin Thicke, and many more.

Will Keith Urban sweep the country categories this year? The 56th GRAMMYs: Country Field Nominees features the superstar singer alongside colleagues such as Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, and Tim McGraw.

When it’s time to turn things up and move your body, put on 56th GRAMMYs: Dance Field Nominees. The set features EDM stars like Rdio Influencer Armin Van Buuren, ZEDD, Kaskade, and Calvin Harris. The competition is stiff this year, but it’s all love on the dancefloor.

Long, long before the term EDM was coined, the popular Dutch DJ, producer, label owner, and radio host Armin van Buuren was captivating international dance floors and furthering the trance movement.

He continues to receive major acclaim for his work. His YouTube views number in the hundreds of millions and he was recently voted the second top DJ in the world by DJ Magazine, an annual ranking he’s topped five separate times and been included in for a dozen years. To top it all off — Armin is also an active member of the Rdio community who generously shares his playlists and passion for trance music with everyone.

Who’s Afraid of 138? gets the heart pumping with almost three hours of trance music for die-hards, a set based on his own single of the same name and likeminded vibes.

A State of Trance Radio captures the tone and feeling of Armin’s weekly radio program that he has hosted since 2001. It has an estimated listenership of 20 million listeners across 50 countries and over 40 radio stations through both satellite and Internet radio stations.

Rdio is a social jukebox with over 30 million songs to discover, play, and share. Play what you want, when you want, or turn on a station for a perfect mix of songs. Listen anywhere — the web, your phone, even offline — and follow friends and artists to see what they’re playing.